Crystal Lake sailor who died in Colorado shooting an 'awesome guy'

Carlos Sadovi and Peter NickeasTribune reporters

A Crystal Lake man, a sailor with the U.S. Navy described by people who knew him as being bright and articulate with "grounded values," is one of the 12 people killed in the Friday shootings at a Colorado movie theater, according to family and Navy officials.

John Larimer, 27, was described as "an awesome guy" well known for his intelligence, witty sense of humor and for being a passionate person who wasn't afraid to share his views, according to Ben Stoner, Larimer's English teacher and theater director at Crystal Lake South High School.

"I have nothing but absolutely, positive memories of John. He was a passionate kid who was a unique individual who was strong in his beliefs," said Stoner. "He was a kid who had pretty grounded values and didn't mind standing up for someone."

A sister of John Larimer, 27, said that they were notified after Larimer's brother flew to Colorado and was told that John Larimer was one of the dead.

"He's among one of the dead," said an older sister who did not give her name. She was reached via telephone early Saturday morning.

"They are still listing him as missing, but we would like to say that he is in fact dead," said the sister, who broke out into tears.

She said her other brother was flying into Crystal Lake for a family gathering this weekend but switched his flight to Denver to try and get details about their sibling.

"He got there about 5:30 their time and they brought them all together, all the people they hadn't told what was going on, and they told him then and he called us," said the sister.

Outside the family's home this afternoon Larimer's aunt Karen Lavin said family members had been arriving to the area to help celebrate a relative's 100th birthday today.

"We're still going to gather, but obviously its not much of a celebration," Lavin said. "We're all just devastated. It's just a terrible, terrible, loss."

In an earlier statement, the Larimer family said that at about midnight a Navy notification team arrived at their home to let them officially know that "our 27 year old son John was in fact one of the 12 killed at the theater in Aurora, Colorado."

"At this point our other son Noel is in Denver working with the Navy and the family here in Illinois to make arrangements to bring John home," according to the statement.

"We respectfully ask that the family and friends of John be allowed time and privacy to grieve for John and we send our thoughts and prayers out to the families of the other victims and those still recovering in the hospital. We love you John and we will miss you always."

According to a Facebook posting by Randee Larimer who said she was his aunt, said her nephew was from a large family who will miss him greatly.

"John was only 27 with an incredible life waiting for him. He will be remembered by a large close family and countless friends. John had incredible mind, a rapier wit, and quiet gentleness that will be greatly missed by all who knew him. RIP," she wrote.

Larimer was a Petty Officer 3rd Class assigned to Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora as a cryptologic technician. He was assigned there in October 2011 after joining the navy in June 2011, a spokesman said. It was his first duty station after training.

A Navy notification team contacted the Larimer family last night and are working with the family to provide support for the family and their friends. Larimer is eligible for a military burial but the arrangements are up to the family, the spokesman said.

"I am incredibly saddened by the loss of Petty Officer John Larimer -- he was an outstanding shipmate," Cmdr. Jeffrey Jakuboski, Larimer's commanding officer, said in a statement early Saturday. "A valued member of our Navy team, he will be missed by all who knew him. My heart goes out to John's family, friends and loved ones, as well as to all victims of this horrible tragedy."

Larimer and another sailer wounded in the incident were from a unit that belongs to U.S. Fleet Cyber Command/U.S. Tenth Fleet, the Navy said.

Earlier, Department of Defense officials had said a sailor was injured and one, known to have been at the theatre that evening, was initially unaccounted for.

Officials later said the other sailor was treated for injuries and released at the scene.

Two airmen were also injured in the incident, the agency said. The Navy and the Air Force are working with the families of these servicemen.

Crystal Lake South Principal Marsha Potthoff said Larimer was one of five children who attended the high school. She said he graduated in 2003, the same year she began at the school.

She called the family very involved in the school and said John Larimer was very involved in the school's theater program in particular. He was involved in several productions during his time at the school. She said Larimer came from a "very involved Crystal Lake family."

"He was a very nice young man, just a great kid to be around," said Potthoff.

Stoner said Larimer's personality really stuck out during class discussions about characters or plot in plays or other literature works. He said Larimer really stood out because he was "very bright and very articulate."

"He was really able to state his opinions and beliefs pretty clearly when others couldn't sometimes," said Stoner. "Often he wasn't the first person to jump in but once he did he was able to make pretty clear and poignant statements."

He said that while he doesn't know what led Larimer to join the Navy, it doesn't surprise him.

"It was consistent ... because he was incredibly bright and firm in his ideals and I have to assume that those ideals included feeling proud to serve and feeling that good must be done," said Stoner. "He was a good, good, strong human being and I know that would have fit nicely in his plans and I know he would have done incredible things for our country."

He recalled that during Larimer's last play in high school the troupe put on a production of The Laramie Project, a play about the murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay man who was beaten to death in Wyoming because of his sexual orientation.

When someone wrote to the local newspaper to attack Stoner and the school for putting on the play, Larimer wrote a thoughtful letter that was printed defending the play, without letting Stoner or anyone in the troupe know, Stoner said.

According to the letter which was printed on May 8, 2003 in the Northwest Herald, Larimer admitted that while he wasn't "thrilled" at first for being involved in a play with such a controversial topic, he thought it was important. His letter was in response to a man who objected to the play and claimed that such intolerance would not find a home in Crystal Lake.

"Our high school is as homogenous as they come and as far as tolerence I suggest standing in our hallway to hear some of the things that are said," Larimer wrote. "The fact is, Crystal Lake is not on some moral high ground. We are not immune to the intolerance that can be found across this entire country."

Stoner said Larimer was the only student to publicly defend the play and the school.

"John was pretty adamant that it was an important play that needed to be done in our community," said Stoner. "John was quick to defend the program's choice to do the show and how important it was and how much learning had taken place and how much learning had taken place as a result and how much growth there had been among the company members.

"That speaks to those strong values and not being afraid to back down from a challenge. He didn't want any kind of glory but just felt that this was something that needed to be defended and he needed to do it."

Stoner remembered that when the theater troupe was returning from a class trip, Stoner and Larimer -- who were both big fans of the Star Wars movies -- ended up playing a Star Wars Trivial Pursuit game.

"Here was a 17-year-old kid who was beating me pretty heavily and I had been a fan of Star Wars for 25 years at that point, it was pretty funny," said Stoner. "When I heard that he had been at the [Batman] screening, it made a lot of sense, he was a kid who loved Star Wars and I'm sure loved comics and things on that scale. That [movie] would have been very welcoming and enjoyable for him."

A few houses down from the Larimer residence, neighbor Julie Gates, 38, recalled John Larimer as a "nice kid" who came from a friendly family. Often, Larimer passed her home on his way to visit some of his friends.

"My dogs would growl at him and he'd come over and pet them," she said.

Gates' daughter, Kristen, said John Larimer gave her a $2 tip once when she ran a lemonade stand. She sold the drinks for 50 cents.

John Larimer often cautioned the 11-year-old if she saw her riding her bike too far from home or in areas where she might get hurt, she said.

"If I went up (the neighbor's) driveway, he'd tell me to be very careful," she said. "It's a very steep driveway."